CHICAGO — Ernie Terrell, whose brief reign as heavyweight champion ended with a punishing loss to Muhammad Ali in a 1967 grudge match, has died. He was 75.

Terrell’s big break came in 1965, when he met Eddie Machen for the World Boxing Association title that was declared vacant after Ali insisted on a rematch with Sonny Liston.

The son of Mississippi sharecroppers and a long-time Chicago resident worked as fight promoter after his boxing career ended. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004.

Terrell twice ran unsuccessfully for alderman of his far South Side neighborhood and built a janitorial company that eventually employed 100 people.

He died Tuesday in Chicago of complications from Alzheimer’s disease, according to his wife Maxine.